All over a broken pencil
by mindless fear of fire
Summary: E/C. Challenge responce, to include a duck, a broken pencil and one and a half carrots. Read it and find out!


A/N: So…this is a response to the challenge made on Adorelo's forum, but Jodie

A/N: So…this is a response to the challenge made on Adorelo's HipHugger forum!! It is very belated, due to computer problems, but here it is at last!

The conditions are: it must include – a duck

One and a half carrots

A broken pencil.

This is what I came up with, so let me know what you think!

Nodding to Detective Tripp over the head of a shaking and pale young girl, who, he surmised, was the one who found the body, Eric ducked under the police tape that marked off the scene, surveying his surroundings as he walked. He was nearing the edge of a small man-made lake that had been converted from an abandoned quarry several years ago. It was a place he was quite familiar with, and he could remember coming up here to have a look at it shortly after its conversion. However, he couldn't help but sigh as he appraised the sight before him; blood and human brain matter was sprayed widely at the edge of the lake, with a slight reddish tinge colouring the water just beside where the body of a woman lay slaughtered. There was certainly none of the tranquillity he had found on his last visit. Shaking his head in disgust, he moved over towards Calleigh, who was talking to the slightly green looking rookie cop that had been lucky enough to get the initial call out.

"…I mean man, that's just horrible! But I followed protocol, I called it in, requested back up and secured and sealed off the scene. The only time I touched the body was to check for a pulse. I mean, I knew it was nigh impossible, but I had to check right? I…" As he spoke, he twisted his hands together, contorting them into several weird and wonderful shapes. Calleigh, to her merit, let the shaken kid babble for longer than usual, clearly understanding his need to clear his head slightly. Eric relished the time, using it to slyly watch her while she was still unaware of him. Placing a gentle hand on his hands, she finally cut him off.

"You did just fine kid, well done." Her southern drawl washed over Eric, calming the feelings of unease that always seemed to accompany this type of case. Suddenly, she sensed his presence behind her, and swung around to face him, a large smile gracing her features. Returning the smile, Eric stepped up beside her, murmuring a greeting. Introducing himself to the cop, he clapped a reassuring hand on his shoulder before turning his attention back to Calleigh.

"So… you want to take pictures, I'll look for trace 'til Alexx comes, then we can both finish the body?" As he spoke, he couldn't help but get lost in her startlingly green eyes ever so slightly, being sucked in by her beauty. Shaking himself mentally, he refocused on what she was saying.

"Yea, that's sounds great. I'll just go fetch my camera and case, they're in the trunk. Giving him another fleeting smile, she walked off. Eric consciously forced himself not to follow her with his eyes, knowing he needed to keep up the pretence of purely platonic feelings at all times, even when she wasn't watching.

Smiling to herself as she walked, Calleigh wondered how long Eric had been standing behind her. She usually felt his presence instantly, but she had been focusing on trying to sift through what the cop had been saying to get the basic details that she needed. She felt a pang of sympathy for him, knowing how hard it could be, especially on the first time encountering that kind of scene. Gathering her kit, she turned, watching Eric move supplely as he focused on his task. Refusing to allow her mind to wander into dangerous waters, she marched firmly towards the body, building her walls up yet another notch.

Groaning, Calleigh straightened up, holding a hand to her back. Two and a half hours later, there had been hardly any evidence on the scene. Also, Alexx had yet to arrive, so they couldn't move on until she came to take the body. Gathering her pitiful amount of evidence bags, she dropped them inside her truck before turning to speak to Eric. However, the words died in her mouth as she saw him cowering by the lakeside, holding two carrots in his hand. Confused, he slowly walked over to him, seriously considering the possibility that he had finally lost it. Seeing him break one carrot in half and throw it at something, she sped up, unable to see for the life of her what he was doing. Drawing up beside him, she saw nothing out of the ordinary. Suddenly, she caught the glance of movement and saw a large duck tottering about in a circle, drawing ever nearer to Eric.

"Eric…?"

"What?" He hissed back. Staring at him in concern, she placed a hand on his shoulder, making him glance round at her.

"Why are you throwing carrots at a duck?" She asked curiously.

"Turning his gaze back round so he didn't lose sight of the animal, he said hoarsely

"They are EVIL little things; I'm just trying to get rid of it."

"By throwing carrot pieces at it?" She snorted gently. "Since when have you been afraid of ducks?" He turned to glare at her, his face flushed.

"I am not SCARED. I simply dislike them. What with their weird webby feet and everything." He shuddered. Calleigh stifled a laugh, and walked past him, watching as the duck waddled back into the water as she approached.

"See? Not so bad after all!" she chuckled.

"Hey, that's not fair, I didn't laugh when you told me about your ant phobia!" Calleigh turned, suddenly feeling awful.

"Eric, I'm sorry, I didn't mean to laugh." She reached out, touching his arm gently. Taking her hand in his, he shook his head.

"That's ok, I get it. Come on, are you done?"

"Yea, I didn't get much, but we better bring what we have back to the lab." Eric began pulling her by the hand towards the Hummer, still holding his carrots.

"Em, Eric? Where did the carrots come from?" He stopped so suddenly that see ended up walking into his back. He turned around slowly, blushing furiously.

"Uh, I…em, well, see, I was kinda feeding my mates rabbit earlier, and I picked them up for him. But then I got the call out, so I headed up here. So they were still in my pocket." Calleigh laughed again, reaching up to touch his warm cheek.

"That's cute!" She giggled, making him blush harder.

Eric could feel the heat rising on his cheeks, and he knew it wasn't just from embarrassment. They were within inches from each other, and he suddenly found himself unable to look her in the eye. The main problem was that he knew she felt something, but that she would never act on it. He also knew it was not because they worked together, although it was a good façade. The real reason was because of her fear. But, at the same time, he knew calling her on her fear would only make things worse; that way he would probably lose her friendship as well. It was with these thoughts spinning through his head that he took a step back, maintaining contact with her hand, but otherwise distancing himself from the pain that sliced through his heart every time he remembered why he had to go home to en empty house each night.

Calleigh's laughter died in her throat as she felt him tensing beside him, and she involuntarily squeezed his hand slightly in concern. She abruptly realised how close they where, and couldn't contain the squeezing sensation she felt grip her heart as she finally acknowledged how good it felt. She looked at Eric, trying to gauge what was wrong with him, and realised he wouldn't look her in the eyes. She felt the loss of his presence the instant he moved away, and unconsciously tightened her hold on his hand. Before she could ask, he quickly moved off again, faster than before, but not so fast she couldn't keep up. Calleigh was really confused. His whole body had tensed up, and she could see the muscles in his back through his shirt. And as much as she enjoyed the sight, she didn't know what had caused such a change in him.

"Eric?" She questioned him again, hoping he would answer, but as they reached her hummer, he let go of her hand, giving her a strained smile before he headed off to the passenger side. She followed his lead, climbing in the driver's side.

He was pulling out his crime scene notes, and began to draw the scene layout, observing extra little details from the window as he worked. Calleigh sat, watching him as he immersed himself back into his work, seemingly in an attempt to forget what had been bothering him. However, he was still upset; his pencil was bending under the force he was applying to it. Suddenly, it snapped cleanly in two.

"Damn it!" His explosion made Calleigh jump slightly, and she watched as he took both ends of the once whole pencil and threw them as hard as he could out of the window.

"Hey, what did that poor pencil do too you?" Calleigh was slightly shocked by his display of anger, and it made her even more concerned.

"Can I borrow a pencil Calleigh? That was the only one I had." She reached into her case, lifted one out and held it tightly in her palm.

"No. You can only borrow it if you tell me what's wrong with you." He glared at her, quite petulantly.

"Come on Cal, just give me the pencil." She shook her head resolutely.

"No. You said you trusted me, so spill. What's wrong?" Sighing in frustration, he suddenly reached over, grabbing for the pencil. But her reflexes were too good for him, and he ended up clutching at thin air. Grabbing again, he reached over into her seat, still reaching for the pencil. Knowing he was too strong for her, and that he had longer arms, she quickly pushed it down her top, into her bra. Eric stopped, blinking in surprise.

"Tell me what's wrong, and then you can have it." Eric laughed gutturally, and he leaned forward, just inches from her face.

"I will go and get it. You know that." Calleigh gulped, seeing the want circling the pupils of his eyes.

"No you won't," She responded, her voice just slightly higher than normal. "I have a gun, you know that." She grinned evilly. Eric swallowed, and she watched, fascinated, as his Adam's apple bobbed dangerously. Slowly, Eric reached over, placing a hand under her chin ever so gently, pulling her face up so he could see into his eyes.

"You want to know what's wrong?" She nodded dumbly, suddenly not so sure.

"You. You, Calleigh." How the hell do you expect me to work with you every day, to live with your not-so-subtle flirting, to see you looking all sweaty and hot in the sun, to see you bite you're lip as you concentrate fully on firing a gun. Calleigh, you know that I like you. But what you might not know is that I love you. I come to work early to see your face. I leave late, hating going home to an empty apartment. But, I can't live like this much longer. It's all or nothing for me, always has been. And I can't live in this endless uncertainty any more. It's pulling me apart."

He sat back into his seat heavily, turning his head away. A tear slipped silently down Calleigh's face, followed by another. She had seen the unadulterated pain that was slowly poisoning his soul. And her heart was ripping, knowing that she alone had put it there. She didn't know what to say, or do. Eric turned to look at her, and, seeing the tears sliding down her cheeks, he reached over and gently wiped them away.

"Don't cry Querida, please. The last thing I want to do is hurt you. I know you're afraid, and if you can't overcome that, I understand. Really, I do." He smiled wanly at her, looking away.

"I wonder where Alexx is." He tried vainly to change the subject, furious at himself for hurting her. Suddenly, he felt her hand pulling his shirt lapels, bringing him towards her. Staring at her is shock, he watched dumbly as she leaned forward, bringing her lips up to rest gently on his. When he didn't respond, she withdrew from the chaste kiss, moving several inches away to look at him.

"I really don't care where Alexx is." She murmured. He smiled down at her, and this time when she leaned forward he was slightly more ready. Slipping his hand around her neck, he pulled her closer as their lips began to move against each others. Eric was still in shock, and he was slowly beginning to feel like he was on some type of drug. He was kissing Calleigh, gorgeous, sophisticated Calleigh. His Calleigh. As he felt he tongue gently probing at his lips, a guttural groan broke the silence, and he quickly opened his lips, allowing her in. He began fighting her for dominance, and their tongues began a fierce battle as they searched every part of each others mouth. Eric knew that if Calleigh couldn't relinquish control her to him even for a kiss, this relationship would not work. Because, to relinquish control, she had to trust him. And so they kept struggling, even as lack of air began to affect them. He needed to know that, in her heart, she really did trust him. He didn't know whether Calleigh was reading his thoughts, or whether it was natural, but, bit by bit, he felt Calleigh relax, allowing him to dominate of the kiss.

Moments later, he pulled away, smiling nervously at her. He just hoped that she wouldn't retreat again, or, even worse, regret it. It wasn't until he saw her smirking mischievously up at him that he allowed himself to relax fully. This time, he leaned forward, and the pureness of the earlier kiss was gone. This one soon developed into a heated frenzy, as years of pent up want was finally released. Just then, they heard another car pull up, and jerked apart. Looking out, they realised it was Alexx, although she hadn't seen them.

"Meet me at mine after shift." Calleigh whispered throatily.

They both fixed their clothes hastily, and, glancing back at each other, they headed back to work.

Well, I hope you all like it ok! By the way, I have ice-cream waiting to be dished out to any reviewers! You know you want it! Just specify your flavour! Lol!


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